That’s well above the 236,556 carloads of crude oil railroads delivered in 2012. Crude oil shipments remain a relatively small part of rail traffic, but they have grown significantly since 2008 when 9,344 carloads were delivered.

Three fiery derailments involving crude oil in the past year led to increased concerns about the shipments even though railroads’ overall safety record remains good. The worst of those killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.

Federal regulators are also considering requiring upgrades to the tank cars railroads use.

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